Update to the Autumn 2012 ratings race - 22 Oct 12

With the exception of PRICELESS and Osozaki no Himawari which make their debut this week, the rest of the dramas have already gone through their first, second or even third OAs so here's how the ranking looks like in terms of the average rating:

1) Aibou Season 11 - 18.60% / Doctor X - 18.60%
3) MONSTERS - 13.80%
4) Kekkon Shinai - 13.30%
5) Going My Home - 13.00%
6) Akumu-chan - 12.15%
7) TOKYO Airport - 11.70%
8) Ooku - 11.10%
9) Tokumei Tantei - 10.80%

10) Tokyo Zenryoku Shoujo - 8.60%
11) Resident - 8.40%
12) Perfect Blue - 8.05%
13) Koukou Nyuushi - 7.00%
14) POISON - 3.40%
15) PIECE - 2.63%
16) Girls Talk - 2.23%
17) Sugarless 1.67%

Doctor X starring Yonekura Ryoko made a very strong start last week which was just lower than Aibou's first episode. At the moment, it is tied for the first spot but the next episode will be crucial in determining if this drama stays in the top 5. MONSTERS' figure was frankly speaking, a bit too low for a first OA considering how much publicity has been put into it and how we've been seeing news about the drama being released bit by bit to boost interest but it may be too soon to write it off entirely.

Kekkon Shinai bucks the jinx of a lower 2nd-episode rating which I'm glad to see. Going My Home hasn't gone through the test of its second OA yet so we won't know if the viewers will still go back to it after one week's break. Akumu-chan slid 2.9% downwards but its average still looks safe enough to keep it above the 10% mark. Ooku only dropped 1% but is pretty close to going under 10 while Tokumei Tantei has already dipped its feet under. TOKYO Airport did rather well in its first episode but losing 4.6% in a span of a week seems like a bad sign. I haven't finished watching the first episode of this drama and surprisingly, what stuck in my mind wasn't the story nor acting but rather the English spoken in it. More on that when I get to the review.

Tokyo Zenryoku Shoujo looks destined to be the champion of the under-10 ranking while Resident also scores a lacklustre debut at 8.4%. Perfect Blue joins them in this category while Koukou Nyuushi despite its low ratings, is actually doing OK when you consider its timeslot.

Now when the heavily-anticipated mega hit i.e. PRICELESS starts its run, how will the rankings change? I'm not a mega fan of KimuTaku and yet I've watched almost everything from him to date while being so critical about it. The trailer didn't really tempt me in checking this out for the long term but I'll probably still take a look at the first few episodes. I'm actually looking forward more to Osozaki no Himawari because of the nice scenery at Shimanto and the appealing story (I'm in the same age group too so I can identify with the issues facing the characters) but realistically speaking, it may be tough for it to get into the top 3. Maybe a top 5 placing will be nice.